3 Days at Trail Camp: Beer, Snakes, and the Pure Joy of Running

Out of necessity, I run most of my miles on pavement—dirt stretches are hard to come by in the New York City area. But I'm most at peace exploring singletrack trails, especially any that are steep and gnarly. The chance to cruise through nature at whatever pace the terrain allows, getting lost in a moment and the surroundings is experienced too infrequently. So I jumped at the opportunity to attend a three-day getaway to Beacon, New York, put on by Knox Robinson, cofounder of the Black Roses NYC run crew.

# BEEN TRAIL # is an immersive journey into the wild for those of us who find ourselves at the intersection of urban living and running culture.

That’s the line that hooked me. The weekend was a decidedly throwback affair. Inspired by the Escarpment Trail Run in the Catskills, a race which for decades required you to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to get a paper entry form, # BEEN TRAIL # details were parceled out over email and promoted on Instagram—no “www” exists.

On site, I relaxed between trail sessions with about 30 other runners from NYC, bunking in six- and eight-person tents, and just generally chilled out away from all of the usual hassles of daily life. Here are the takeaways from the weekend to help you create your own trail escape.

Running can sometimes suck—we’re always “training!” But running trails can bring joy back to the sport. The pace on your Garmin is meaningless when running over hilly, rock-strewn land. So, too, is mileage (a 10-mile run can take more than three hours to complete, as we discovered).

Instead, enjoy the time you’re able to spend among the trees. Our group kept things mostly relaxed, regrouping at tricky junctions in the trail and at summit overlooks. Of course, there were moments where we dashed up a steep climb or bombed down a scree slope, but in the end, none of us cared about the pace displayed on Strava afterward as much as we did the Instagrams captured along the way. One such highlight for all of us was the midrun swim. After a hard climb to a nearby peak, we stripped down to shorts and sports bras to take a refreshing dip in a mountain lake. Rejuvenated, we rock-hopped back down to base camp with smiles stretched from ear to ear.

My regular trails when vacationing in the Adirondack Mountains are pretty rugged, even though they’re heavily trafficked. These trails were every bit as technical, but the climbs weren't quite as long. That makes for a better day-hike option if you’re taking it slowly, and it also makes a more friendly beginner crash course. Despite not having a ton of trail experience, all of these urban road runners were dancing over rocks and roots in no time, showing off incredible footwork, with only a few tumbles among us. All that hard work and focus paid off when we reached our destinations—mountain summits and clearings on ridge lines.

At some point, you will get lost in the woods. On our adventure, the hashtag #dontfollowtom gained popularity after one speedy runner led us off-course multiple times. To find our bearings, we whipped out our iPhones and the Avenza app (a new discovery for me). The app displays PDF maps—one for our area cost a mere $3.99.

Kelly Snavely from the American Hiking Society joined us and gave a tutorial on how to use the app before setting off—on National Trails Day, coincidentally. Once a map is downloaded to your phone, the digital app doesn't require a cell signal to keep you on the trail. Using GPS, it’ll show a blue dot overlaid on the map to help keep you on the right trail. If you prefer the low-tech approach, paper, pencil, and compass works fine, too.

I ran all three days with my iPhone tucked into the chest pocket on a hydration vest. And while a smartphone is great because you can immediately upload photos from the trail to social media, rain and sweat (and God forbid, mud or blood) make it a pain in the butt to operate a touchscreen device. A rugged point-and-click like the Fuji FinePix XP120 that I usually run with would have better captured the scene (in higher quality, too). With built-in wifi, it lets me wirelessly zip the best snapshots to my iPhone after the run to post them to Instagram, albeit slightly later.

5. Beware of Wildlife

On Sunday’s run, one of our group’s leaders stopped and pointed up at a bear den on the hillside we were circumnavigating. He spotted a bear, though most of us saw only trees. In any case, an encounter with a surly animal can quickly spoil a good long jog in the woods. So, too, can snakes. Be on the lookout for them on rocky, sunny trails—or in the water, as we discovered. Immediately after our dip on Saturday, a big black snake swam right through the area we had cannonballed as if to remind us who’s boss. (Here are some more animals you don’t want to encounter when running or racing.)

The best part about a three-day camping and running trip is the opportunity to disengage from all of the noise you find in everyday life. Running trails is a special treat and refreshing, but it’s also an incredible opportunity to do things out of the ordinary, like make s’mores under a canopy of stars. So, if you can spare a couple nights to sack out in a tent, do it. If you think you can’t, find a way to make it happen. Bring some buddies along and build a fire. Our group had a slew of activities lined up, including a late night DJ set, but at the end of the day we cracked open cans of Genesee Light and circled around glowing embers. During daytime lulls, we lazed in the grass reading real, paper books. Take advantage of such downtime.

This weekend was powered with “plant-forward fine dining” by Carolyn Manney of Sugar Beet. Dinner on the first night was tostadas with green pea guacamole, black beans, slaw, queso fresco, pickled onions and tomatillo salsa. Lunch the next day was baked tofu banh mi sandwiches with edamame spread, pickled onions and jalapeños. And despite washing it down with substantial amounts of ale, I ran stronger and had more energy than the previous weekend when I bonked during a nine-mile mountain quest powered by nothing more than iced coffee.

Are you ready for a trail camp adventure? Here are 10 running camps around the country that will get you started. And sunglasses maker Julbo recently announced it’s hosting a camp in late September with ultramarathon runner Kriss Moehl.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Runner's World participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.